General Blog
November 2, 2007 at 7:33 pm | Trip | No comment
I’ve decided to change this to a general blog, as spiritual realisations only come to me every so often.
Anyway, I’d better introduce myself briefly, I’m a 21 year old IT professional, I’ve been working with the same company for four years and I’m sick to death of it.
That’s why 8 months ago I took the decision to pack up from the UK and move lock stock to Italy and live without working.
My house sale completed today, I’m now the proud owner of £32,000 with which I shall change my life.
A few weeks ago I decided that my original plan for simply back packing around Italy would be too frustrating, I wanted my own transport.
I could take my car, but it’s big, guzzles fuel like nobodies business, and though reasonably reliable is still comparitively expensive to maintain.
That’s why I’ve decided to take a motorbike!
This may not seem like a huge decision, but I’ve grown up in a family where bikes are evil, they must be avoided at all costs and sitting on one is tantamount to slitting your wrists while sitting in the bath.
Like I always do when I decide something, I’ve started to read up on the subject, a lot.
As it turns out there’s an absolutely massive following of people who take holidays or years out or even like I am sell up and just head out, all on bikes!
I started off by reading ADVRider.com, and went on to read “The Long Way Round” featuring Ewan Mcgregor, which lead me further to “Jupiter’s Travels” and “The Adventure Motorcycling Handbook”, neither of which I’ve really got my teeth in to yet.
Needless to say, due to my upbringing I don’t currently have a bike license, but no matter, I have until March 2008 to bring my plans to fruition (my official leaving date at work is February the 29th, rather fitting since I’ve been working there just over 4 years!).
My test is booked for the 4th of December, and coincidentally, my (one and only) biker mate’s car test is on the 6th of December, as you might imagine if either of us fails we’ll be taken the piss out of mercilessly (god forbid we both fail!).
Telling my friends over the past few months about my plans to leave has generated significantly less incredulity that I would have imagined, perhaps they don’t believe that I’m actually going to go through with it.
It’s fairly easy for me, to just up and leave, having a mortgage is only a mental barrier and a matter of a few months paperwork.
I’ve been moving around my whole life, by the time I was sixteen I’d lived in 16 different houses and 3 or 4 different countries, so I don’t have what you’d call a rooted past to tear myself from.
Though this time will be more difficult than previously, as I have to leave my girlfriend behind.
Doubly hard is that I can’t talk to her about my trip at all, at the mere mention of “Italy” or “March” her responses become curt and angry.
I told her from the very beginning of our relationship that I was going, we only met in June (a few months after I’d made the decision to leave) and I knew I had to be upfront with it, lest it be seen as a betrayal later on.
It’s amazing, I’ve gone as far as booking a bike test, selling my house and officially quitting my job (signing the piece of paper detailing my ‘sorrowful resignation’ this morning made it seem much more real), but still I’ve made no real plans as to what I’m going to do.
I know I’m going to ride down there, probably take the ferry to the arse end of France otherwise known as Calais, after getting out of there as quickly as possible I may briefly flit into Germany to have a swing round the Nürburgring; I’ve always wanted to go there.
I also have an ex-girlfriend who now resides in… somewhere or other, I forget where exactly… But I’ll probably find out and visit her as I’m sure it’s roughly on the way to Italy…